United Overseas Bank (UOB) has enabled its customers to be the first in Singapore to make person-to-person fund transfers via PayNow.

Today, UOB introduced UOB MyKey, a mobile keyboard for Android smartphones, for customers to pay - and be paid - through PayNow on social messaging apps.

PayNow is a person-to-person - also known as peer-to-peer - fund transfer service that enables customers to make transactions using their mobile number or identification card number.

UOB MyKey, an extension of UOB's mobile banking app UOB Mighty, can be used in any social messaging app once it is set as the default keyboard.

Ms Jacquelyn Tan, head of personal financial services Singapore at UOB, noted that seven in 10 Singaporeans use social messaging apps. UOB MyKey supplements the range of functions that these app users can tap on.

"UOB MyKey makes it effortless for our customers to transfer funds as they only need to tap on the UOB logo on the smart keyboard to access PayNow," Ms Tan said.

"As UOB MyKey is also built within our UOB Mighty infrastructure and shares the same security standards, our customers are able to make these fund transfers safely and conveniently."

With the increasing popularity of e-commerce, UOB has also made UOB MyKey compatible with well-known e-commerce mobile apps like Carousell.

It will be more convenient for customers to pay for items on e-marketplaces as they do not need to leave the app to transfer money to the sellers. This enables sellers to receive payment almost instantly and buyers to complete purchases faster.

"PayNow, led by the Association of Banks in Singapore, is a timely initiative making it easier for Singaporeans to transfer funds," said Carousell Singapore general manager Winnie Khoo.

"UOB's MyKey furthers the convenience of PayNow to enable secure and immediate transactions between buyers and sellers chatting in our app," she added.